Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Guide No. 62 (2011)

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

What This Guide Does and Does Not Cover

This guide begins by
describing the problem of sexual assault of women by strangers and reviewing
factors that increase its risks. It then lists a series of questions to help you
analyze your local sexual assault problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the
problem and what is known about them from evaluative research and police
practice.

Sexual assault of women by strangers is but one
aspect of the larger set of sexual violence-related problems. This guide is
limited to addressing the particular harms sexual assaults by strangers cause
women. Related problems not directly addressed in this guide, each of which
requires separate analysis, include the following:

sexual assault by acquaintances, including spousal and date rape;†

sexual abuse of children, including statutory rape;

sexual assault of sex-industry workers;

sexual assault in prisons;

sexual assault by multiple attackers, or gang rape;

human trafficking; and

false reporting of sexual assault.

† See Problem-Specific Guide No. 17, Acquaintance Rape of College Students, for more information on this latter type of sexual assault. Although sexual assaults have commonalities (e.g., the behavior involved, the impact on the victim), sexual assaults by strangers differ from those committed by acquaintances in important ways (e.g., the relationship between the offender and victim; the method of approaching the victim; the protective strategies that can be employed by women to reduce their likelihood of being assaulted). For these reasons, separate Problem-Specific Guides were created.

Some of these related problems are covered in other guides
in this series, all of which are listed at the end of this guide. For the most
up-to-date list of current and future guides, see www.popcenter.org.

General Description of the Problem

Sexual assault describes offenses in which an assailant
forces a victim to participate in a variety of sexual behaviors that may
include the actual or attempted penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth with
the penis or an object. Legal definitions tend to separate rape, which involves
actual penetration, from nonconsensual sexual contact or attempted rape. This
guide addresses all types of sexual contact by force.

Most offenders rape to satisfy their need for power and
control, and they use various forced sexual acts to do so.1
In other words, the sexual act is the means, rather than the motive, for sexual
assault. Although acquaintances commit most sexual assaults, this guide focuses
on those that strangers commit. Contact between the victim and the offender is
limited to when the assault occurs. Males commit nearly all sexual assaults,
and most victims are female.2
Both males and females sometimes sexually assault males, but very little
research discusses male victims.††
Thus this guide focuses only on female victims.

†† Researchers have conducted a few studies of sexual assault against males, including Abdullah-Kahn (2008); Stermac, del Bove, and Addison (2004); and Davies (2002). While underreporting occurs among female victims, it is particularly pronounced among male victims. As a result, our knowledge of the dynamics of sexual assault against males is quite limited.

Prevalence

Unfortunately, the failure of data on sexual assault to make
important distinctions and gaps in the research that limit our understanding of
the problem hamper this guide. As shown by the statistics below, much of what
we believe we know about sexual assault of women by strangers may not be valid
because of the comingling of data on stranger and acquaintance rape in the
research, when the offenders, victims, and locations (which provide all of the
information one needs for good problem-solving) associated with the two types
of sexual assault actually differ a lot.

Researchers generate statistics on the prevalence of sexual
assault from two main sources: reported crimes and victimization surveys.†††
Researchers estimate that approximately 20 percent of women in the United States have been sexually assaulted.3
Acquaintances assaulted at least three-quarters of these women, while strangers
attacked approximately one-quarter of them.

††† As both of these tend to combine data for rapes committed by strangers and acquaintances, the statistics reported here
include both types, unless otherwise indicated.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, people
reported approximately 89,000 rapes to police in 2008, a rate of 29.3 rapes per
100,000 inhabitants.4
The number of reported rapes has remained relatively stable for the past 10
years, decreasing only 0.5 percent between 1999 and 2008. The rate of reported
rapes decreased approximately 11 percent during that same period. However, most
researchers agree that statistics relying on reported rapes fail to
represent the number of sexual assaults that actually occur in the United States because most victims do not report the assaults to police.5

The National Violence Against Women Survey, completed in
1995 and 1996,6
remains the most rigorous victimization study on the topic. Offenders raped approximately
302,000 women in the year preceding the survey. Someone the women knew raped the
vast majority of them (83%). Only 21 percent of respondents raped by strangers
reported the attack to the police, meaning that police did not know about nearly
80 percent of all stranger rapes. Although the United Kingdom has a lower incidence
of rape, the British Crime Survey has revealed this same rate of
underreporting.7
As a result, the number of sexual assaults reported to police reveals only a
small fragment of the problem and is unlikely to be particularly helpful to
problem-solving efforts. To accurately understand the problem, communities must
first understand and address the issues underlying victims' reluctance to
report sexual assault to police.

Underreporting by Victims

Without knowing offenses have occurred, police cannot
identify and arrest suspects, and prosecutors cannot prosecute offenders. The criminal
justice system's deterrent value is lost. Further, in cases of sexual assault
by a stranger, the victim is often the only witness. The victim's cooperation
is therefore essential to an effective criminal justice response. Police would
have substantially more information about the dynamics of sexual assault by
strangers, and how to prevent them, if they could encourage more victims to
report their assaults.

Women choose not to report their rape to police for many
reasons.8
Some feel partially responsible, ashamed, or embarrassed about what happened to
them. Others may have been engaged in illegal activity (e.g., drug use,
prostitution, underage drinking) when the assault occurred and worry that
police will treat them insensitively. Some are concerned their involvement in
the criminal justice system will be burdensome. Still others fear retribution from
the offender. While these barriers to reporting are not insurmountable, they
will likely require strategies specifically designed to help victims overcome
them.

The research literature indicates that women are more likely
to report their victimization when they have actively resisted the attack, when
the assailant has physically injured them, or when the assailant used a weapon
or forced them to participate in particularly depraved acts. These factors may
help women to define what happened to them as an assault.9
Further, those who seek medical treatment promptly and who believe their family
and friends will support their decision to report their assault to the police are
more likely to do so.10

Victims' Experiences With Police

Much literature discusses sexual assault victims' experiences
with the police who handled their cases when they chose to report. While several
studies show that victims' experiences with police have improved in recent
years, negative interactions continue to occur.11
Sometimes called the "second victimization," poor treatment by police has been
said to increase the distress, alienation, and self-blame that many victims
experience. Studies of police interviews with sexual assault victims have found
fault with officers who question victims about their clothing, alcohol or drug
use, resistance level, prior sexual encounters, and sexual responses to the
assault.12
In other words, when police use the "Why not?" form of questioning (e.g., "Why
didn't you scream? Fight back? Tell anyone?"), the self-blame that already
burdens many victims increases.13
Victims have also complained that police seemed reluctant to take the report
and/or to refer them for a forensic evaluation, or that police otherwise
implied that the case was not serious.14

Challenges for Acknowledging the Problem

Perceptions about what constitutes "real rape" affect how
police, prosecutors, judges, juries, and the general public view the problem of
sexual assault. Common distortions include the following:

beliefs
that the victim may be partially to blame for the assault (e.g., the victim
provoked the attack through her appearance, behavior, or sexual history); and

beliefs
that the offender may not be fully responsible for his behavior (e.g., the male
sex drive is difficult to control).15

In addition, the regrettable problem of false reporting may
also affect how police view alleged victims. Some victims may be unsure of the
details, confused as a result of their use of drugs or alcohol, or lying about
some aspect of the experience, but may be truthful about the general fact they
were assaulted. While most police have experienced an alleged victim who
falsely reports a sexual assault, the professional literature on the topic is very
sparse. Many researchers fear addressing the topic because it is politically risky
to do so.16
Researchers widely cite a 2 percent false- reporting rate for sexual assault in
commentary on the subject; however, scientists have thoroughly investigated this
claim and found that the research does not support it.17
The two research studies that have examined the issue cite very different rates
of false reporting (17 percent and 50 percent).18
Unfortunately, as most research on sexual assault has done, these studies comingled
data on sexual assaults by strangers and those by acquaintances.

Researchers have more widely examined the motives for false
reporting. They have found that a need for attention from friends or
significant others, a desire to access medical treatment for sexually
transmitted diseases or pregnancy, or an attempt to explain an inappropriate
absence to a significant other or parent has motivated women to falsely report
sexual assaults.19

Distortions about what constitutes "real rape" and the
problem of false reports of sexual assault make it difficult for some
communities to acknowledge the true extent of their sexual assault problem. Not
only can they lead to biases in how police and prosecutors handle reports of
sexual assault, but also false reports add imprecise data to measures of the
prevalence of sexual assault.

Harms Caused by Sexual Assault

In varying degrees, victims experience emotional, physical,
social, and sexual problems as a result of being sexually assaulted. Some women
suffer severe injuries, contract sexually transmitted diseases, or get pregnant.20
Nearly all women experience psychological anguish, and many experience
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at some point in their lives.21
In the short term, most women experience some combination of fear and anxiety;
denial, shock, and disbelief; guilt, hostility, and blame; and feelings of
helplessness or a loss of control.22
Longer-term effects may include disturbances in eating and sleeping; strained
relationships with family, friends, and partners; difficulty maintaining
employment; and sexual problems.23
Recovering from these effects requires support from helping professionals,
friends, and family and may take a long time.

Factors Contributing to Sexual Assault of Women by
Strangers

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem
will help you frame your own local analysis questions, determine good
effectiveness measures, recognize key intervention points, and select
appropriate responses. Because so many sexual assaults go unreported to police,
data on offender and victim characteristics and locations and times when sexual
assaults by strangers occur are very limited and may be misleading. You will
need additional information from local victimization studies, rape crisis centers,
and hospitals to fully understand your problem.

The sexual assault analysis triangle below may help to frame
the important factors contributing to the problem. Rather than being determined
by a single factor, sexual assault may result when (1) a motivated offender and
(2) a vulnerable victim cross paths in (3) a location without capable
guardians. Depending on the nature of your local sexual assault problem, each triangle
side's relative importance will vary. You may be able to reduce sexual assault
by addressing one triangle side (e.g., providing programs for women designed to
reduce their vulnerability to an attack), but you will likely have better
results if you identify responses that simultaneously target offenders, victims,
and locations where sexual assaults are likely to occur.

Fig. 1. Sexual assault analysis triangle.†

† The problem analysis triangle originates from routine activity theory, which posits that for a crime to occur, a motivated
offender is present, a suitable target (victim) is available, and no suitable guardian is around to prevent the crime. See the
Problem-Oriented Policing Center website, www.popcenter.org, for more information on routine activity theory.

Sexual Assault Phases

How offenders plan or commit sexual assaults highlights
situational characteristics that can inform prevention efforts. Transactions
during sexual assaults are usually unstable given that the offender must
maintain control over the victim and manage situational variables to continue the
assault. Researchers developed the specific phases of sexual assaults discussed
below through interviews with incarcerated rapists who were strangers to their
victims.24

First, most sexual offenders have a series of preexisting
life problems and tensions and have trouble coping with everyday life. These
personally troubling events generally become particularly severe immediately
before the assault. A specific event may increase the perpetrator's sense of
futility and anger and may heighten his motivation to offend.

This motivation then transforms into action. The offender
may be determined to rape someone from the outset or may decide to assault a
woman encountered some other way (e.g., by providing help, through a social
encounter, or during another crime). Some offenders choose victims simply
because they are there, while others choose victims because they have specific
characteristics that are meaningful to the offender. Some offenders initiate
the attack impulsively, while others ensure the surroundings are appropriate
and then wait for a suitable victim to emerge.

Once the offender targets a victim, he engages her, either
verbally or physically, to gain control. The sudden, unexpected confrontation
gives the victim little opportunity to decide whether and how to resist. Once offenders
establish control of their victims, most offenders struggle to gain control of
their own emotions while conducting the assault. During this time, they will
usually either physically dominate the victim or negotiate cooperation
verbally.

Most assailants do not have weapons during the assault.25
They are far more likely to threaten physical harm and to punch or slap
victims. Although offenders sometimes injure their victims with weapons, they
tend to use weapons to control and to inhibit resistance rather than to physically
harm the victim.26

Finally, the offender must leave the scene. Many simply flee
without any organized activity to conceal their actions or their identity.
Others may threaten to retaliate if the victim reports the crime and may take
steps to destroy evidence.

Dissecting the various phases of the assault highlights
areas in which potential victims could be better protected. Further, the
locations where sexual assaults are likely to occur could be adapted to make
assaults more difficult to commit.

Victims

The National Violence Against Women Survey found that
slightly more nonwhite women reported having been raped in their lifetime than
white women (20% versus 18%, respectively) and that rape occurs at an early age.27
Just over half of the women reported their first rape occurred before they were
18. Thirty percent were raped between the ages of 18 and 24, and 17 percent
were raped at age 25 or older.

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, young,
unmarried women are the most common victims of sexual assault, although their
vulnerability may result from their being more likely to associate with younger
men or to frequent risky places.28
You should interpret these data with caution because they combine victims of sexual
assaults by both strangers and acquaintances.

Offenders may pick a victim at random, simply because she is
available. Other offenders may select a victim because she has certain
characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, hair color, size, dress style) that
symbolically represent something that has angered him. Women who are alone and
appear to be distracted or otherwise unaware of their surroundings (e.g.,
talking on a cell phone, intoxicated, lost) may be easier to approach
undetected and to overpower.

Offenders

Studies of incarcerated rapists indicate that younger men
generally commit sexual assaults against strangers.29
Most researchers believe that rapists have generally negative or adversarial
attitudes toward women. Although they may have had difficulty sustaining adult
relationships, the offenders studied usually had access to consensual sexual
partners.30
Offenders who participated in research on sexual assault often exhibited a
sense of sexual entitlement, need for power and control, hostility and anger,
and acceptance of interpersonal violence of all kinds.31
Studies of incarcerated rapists have also found that a large proportion had at
least one previous conviction, although it was generally not for a sex offense
and tended to be for a violent crime, burglary, or theft.32
Among those studied, most rapists were not exclusively sex offenders. However, those
who were convicted of a sex offense were far more likely than other offenders to
commit a subsequent sex offense.33

Locations and Times

The rate of reported sexual assaults is highest in cities
outside of major metropolitan areas and lowest in nonmetropolitan areas.34
Unfortunately, victimization studies do not collect data on the locations where
assaults occur. A study of incarcerated stranger rapists in the United Kingdom found that nearly two-thirds of the assaults occurred in public places,
including parks, deserted streets, public buildings, and bars and nightclubs.
Smaller proportions occurred in the perpetrator's or the victim's home.35

Most researchers believe that sexual assaults take place in relatively
isolated areas where the risk of intervention by bystanders is limited. One
study of convicted rapists found that they committed most sexual assaults near
their homes.36
Further, perpetrators were more likely to travel greater distances when they had
targeted a specific location with a lot of suitable victims. Some attacked
their victims in areas close to a previous residence because they were familiar
with the neighborhood. Finally, some offenders spent considerable time prowling
a targeted area, searching for a suitable victim. While unfortunately we know little
about offenders' connections to the places where sexual assaults occur, this
relationship has important implications for problem-solving.

Most sexual assaults occur at night, under the cover of
darkness and when fewer people are out in public. Intoxicated bar patrons,
women who work late, or women who take night classes may travel home alone at
night.

Alcohol Use

The use of alcohol, particularly in bars or other public
places, increases the risk of sexual assault in two ways. First, researchers
believe alcohol decreases men's inhibitions against using violence and increases
their sexual interest, and thus their propensity to commit rape.37
Second, when intoxicated, women may pay less attention to cues that would
normally alert them to potentially dangerous situations. As a result, they may
fail to take precautions or may take risks that they would not otherwise take
(e.g., walk home alone, accept a ride from a stranger).38
Further, a victim's ability to resist an attack is compromised when she is
intoxicated. In most cases of sexual assault by strangers where alcohol is
involved, the victim voluntarily drinks and is not drugged or rendered
intoxicated by the attacker.39

Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized
description of sexual assault of women by strangers. You must combine the basic
facts with a more specific understanding of your local problem. Carefully analyzing
the local problem will help you design a more effective response strategy.

Stakeholders

In addition to criminal justice agencies, the following
groups may have an interest in the sexual assault problem, and you should
consider them for the contribution they might make to gathering information
about the problem and responding to it.

Rape
crisis centers, support groups, and other organizations that provide counseling
to sexual assault victims. These agencies can be instrumental in providing
details about risky locations, offender behavior and characteristics, and
victim vulnerabilities in assaults not reported to police. They can also
provide information on the barriers to reporting sexual assaults in your
jurisdiction.

Hospitals,
and women's clinics, and urgent care clinics. Forensic medical evidence is
crucial to successfully prosecute sexual assault cases. Not only can these
agencies provide information on the types of injuries that occur during sexual
assaults, but also they are critical partners in interagency sexual assault-prevention
efforts. They can also help to assess the need for and benefits of dedicated
forensic medical staff.

Women's
advocacy groups.
Groups with established credibility among women may best implement responses
that require access to potential victims.

Private
security forces in downtown areas, malls, or other places where sexual assaults
occur.
These agencies can contribute information on suspicious people who frequent
particular areas that could benefit from improved safety features.

Public
transportation agencies. If sexual assaults occur on or near public
transportation, these agencies may be able to implement specific environmental
strategies to fortify the locations in which potential victims are vulnerable.

Military
officials.
Communities with military bases may benefit from input from military police or
other officials involved in handling cases of sexual assault by strangers that
occur on base.

Downtown
business associations.
These agencies have an interest in ensuring that women, including tourists and
other potential customers, consider the areas safe.

Bar
and nightclub associations. These organizations can help to support responses
that target intoxication in public places as a contributing factor to sexual
assault.

Neighborhood
Watch programs.
These programs can support police efforts to increase surveillance of risky
locations.

Homeowners'
associations.
Active associations may be able to contribute information on risky locations
and other factors that contribute to the problem.

School
districts and local colleges and universities. Not only are these
institutions' students potential victims, but also the schedule of night
classes and the lack of safe transportation may contribute to the problem.

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should ask
when analyzing your particular sexual assault problem, even if the answers are
not always readily available. Your answers to these and other questions will
help you choose the most appropriate set of responses later on.

Incidents

How
many sexual assaults occur in your community? (Do not limit your inquiry to
only those offenses charged as sexual assaults. Other offenses, such as
homicides, kidnappings, and burglaries, may subsume sexual assault charges,
even though the offenses included forced sexual acts. You should train department
research staff to ensure that each distinct offense is tallied, rather than
subsumed by other offenses occurring in a single incident.)

How
many sexual assaults are committed by a stranger versus someone the victim
knows?

How
many attempted sexual assaults occur in your community? What stops these assaults
(e.g., the attacker flees when the victim resists, a bystander intervenes)?

How
many reports do police receive? Why do some women choose not to report they
have been attacked?

What
businesses, high-traffic areas, or other places where people congregate are
nearby?

At
what time of day do most sexual assaults occur? On what days of the week? At
what times of the year?

Does
the incidence of sexual assault increase during certain community events (e.g.,
community festivals, sporting events, holiday celebrations)?

Current Responses

What
community programs are available to reduce men's propensity to commit sexual
assaults? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

What
community programs are available to help women avoid sexual assault? Has anyone
assessed their effectiveness?

What
initiatives has anyone taken to increase community awareness of the sexual
assault problem?

What
strategies has anyone used to enhance the safety of locations where sexual
assaults occur? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

What
initiatives has anyone taken to increase victims' likelihood to report crime to
the police? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

How
well do reporting victims say they were treated by police during the
investigation?

What
percentage of reported sexual assaults do police clear by arrest?

What
percentage of reported sexual offenders do prosecutors take to court?

What
percentage of offenders accused of sexual assault are convicted? Incarcerated?

What
types of sentences do convicted offenders receive? Do offenders comply with their
sentences' terms?

Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine how much your efforts
have succeeded, and suggests how you might modify your responses if they are
not producing the intended results. You should take measures of your problem before
you implement responses, to determine how serious the problem is, and after
you implement them, to determine whether they have been effective. You should
take all measures in both the target area and the surrounding area. For more-detailed
guidance on measuring effectiveness, see Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 1, Assessing
Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers,
and Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 10, Analyzing Crime Displacement and
Diffusion.

The following are potentially useful measures of the
effectiveness of responses to sexual assaults of women by strangers. Process
indicators show the extent to which the police properly implemented the responses.
Outcome indicators show the extent to which the responses reduced the level or
severity of the problem.

Process Indicators

You should use the following process indicators in your
assessment:

increased
compatibility between the number of women who report sexual assaults to police
and the number who report them to rape crisis centers or in victimization
surveys,

increased
number of women who feel prepared to defend themselves against an attacker,

increased
number of community members who know the problem's severity and will intervene
to prevent an attack,

improved
safety features at locations where sexual assaults could potentially occur,

increased
number of sexual assaults cleared by arrest, and

increased
number of sexual assaults successfully investigated and prosecuted.

Outcome Indicators

You should use the following outcome indicators in your
assessment:

reduced
number of sexual assaults by strangers,

reduced
number and severity of injuries women suffer during sexual assaults, and

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better
understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your
local problem and established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you
should consider possible responses to address the problem.

The following response strategies provide a foundation of
ideas for addressing your particular problem. These strategies are drawn from a
variety of research studies and police reports. Several of these strategies may
apply to your community's problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to
local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable
analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing
several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone rarely
reduce or solve the problem.

Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do:
carefully consider whether others in your community share responsibility for
the problem and can help police better respond to it. In some cases, you may
need to shift the responsibility of responding to those who can implement more-effective
responses. (For more-detailed information on shifting and sharing
responsibility, see Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and SharingResponsibility for Public Safety Problems.)

General
Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy†

† In recent years, improvements in investigative techniques, evidence collection, and forensics have significantly affected the
ability to respond effectively to sexual assaults. While important, these innovations are covered elsewhere (e.g., Savino and
Turvey 2005) and thus not discussed in this guide.

1.Implementing a multifaceted response. The crime analysis
triangle presented earlier highlights the three critical factors needed for a
sexual assault to occur (i.e., a motivated offender, a suitable victim, and a
location lacking capable guardians). You will have a more effective sexual
assault-prevention strategy when you simultaneously address multiple sides of
this triangle rather than rely on responses that address only one part.
Selecting several of the specific responses listed below will enhance your
strategy's overall effectiveness.

2.Developing an interagency collaboration. An appropriate
response to the crime of sexual assault will involve, at a minimum, criminal
justice, medical, and social service agencies.††
Police officers investigate the facts and prosecutors try cases; medical professionals
provide medical attention for physical injuries and collect forensic evidence;
and social service agencies provide emotional and logistical support to
victims. While no single agency can perform all of these functions, each agency
depends on the others to do their jobs so that it can do its own. Several
jurisdictions have formed formal collaborations with staff from these agencies.
Called Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) or Sexual Assault Response Centers
(SARC), these collaborations provide a support system that reduces the burden
and trauma on victims as they negotiate the criminal justice process.†††

†† The Office for Victims of Crime's manual on the development and operation of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs includes useful sections on multiagency sexual assault response teams (Ledray 1999). Further, the Memphis Police Department engaged in a multiagency project to reduce the incidence of sexual assault. Surveys of partners indicated that the project fostered collaboration, generated buy-in from non-law enforcement agencies, implemented new approaches, and
generated additional funding to solve the problem (Coldren and Forde 2010).

††† The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape developed guidelines for developing a SART. The guidelines focus on the development of formal protocols for interagency communication and emphasize treating victims with fairness, dignity, and respect throughout the process (see Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape 2002).

Cross-training is essential to a coordinated response.40
All stakeholders should be exposed to a core curriculum of the dynamics of sex offending,
characteristics of offenders, needs of victims, specialized risk assessments
for sex offenders, and core principles of evidence-based treatment.41
They must also gain the knowledge and skill to fulfill their specific
responsibilities. Medical staff must recognize the evidentiary issues police
and prosecutors face. Police and prosecutors must appreciate how badly the
traumas affect the victims' emotional states and their ability to participate
in the legal process.† Victim advocates must understand the legal system so they can accurately
respond to victims' questions about the process.

† Savino and Turvey's Rape Investigation Handbook provides excellent guidance to police officers in their duties as first
responders and investigators of complex sexual assault cases (Savino and Turvey 2005).

Studies of SARTs and SARCs have found that paid, full-time
staff provide higher-quality and prompter services than part-time staff or
volunteers, who are usually less well trained, may not stay abreast of current
research, and may not be as dependable.42
Further, with formal links between agencies, communities can gather better information on the size and scope of their sexual assault problem.††

†† San Diego County's SART studied the approximately 4,000 sexual assaults it handled between 1993 and 2001. Those involved may use data on victim characteristics and times and locations for assaults to develop specific response strategies, and use data on wait times for victims' services to enhance service quality (see County of San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team 2003).

Specific Responses To Reduce Sexual Assault of Women by
Strangers

Victim-Oriented
Responses†

† Additional resources for working with victims are available from the Office on Violence Against Women (see www.ovw.usdoj.gov) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (see www.ncvc.org).

3.Supporting sexual assault victims. A victim's advocate from
the police, prosecutor's office, and local rape crisis center can address victims'
emotional needs. Many times, victims will work with advocates from all three of
these agencies at different stages following the disclosure of the offense,
investigation, and prosecution. Advocates escort the victim through the major
stages of the criminal justice and medical response to the assault. Key duties
include providing emotional support during police interviews, during medical
exams, and anytime thereafter; explaining legal and medical procedures;
outlining available options for medical treatment and police reporting; and
answering victims' questions. With the victims' consent, advocates can act as a
liaison with the various agencies and service providers.

Advocates' support of victims allows police and prosecutors
to focus on investigating and prosecuting offenders. Advocates' work with
victims is often long-term, spanning from the time of the assault through the
entire criminal proceeding, and sometimes well after. Victims receive better services
if they have a single dedicated advocate rather than transferring to different
advocates as their cases progress.43
Finally, the advocate protects the victim's best interests by observing medical
staff, police, and prosecutor's processes and behaviors to ensure they treat
the victim with dignity and respect.44
Their support may make the process less stressful and more predictable, and
thus may increase the likelihood that the victim will participate in the
investigation and prosecution of the offender.††

†† The Memphis Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiatives (SACSI) program developed a multiagency initiative
to reduce sexual assault. Believing that interventions designed to keep more cases in the pipeline toward arrest, prosecution, and sentencing would lead to a stronger deterrent effect and reduction in the rate of sexual assault, the program developed interventions to maintain victims' interest and desire to persist with prosecution. The Memphis Police Department altered its response procedures for sexual assault calls and improved the physical space for victim interviews in the Sex Crimes Unit (Coldren and Forde 2010).

4. Making forensic medical exams less burdensome. While collecting
forensic evidence remains a crucial function of the team's medical component,
historically, victims have had to endure long waits in hospital emergency rooms
and then treatment by medical staff unfamiliar with the intricacies of sexual
assault cases and the types of evidence police need to progress with the case.45
To counteract these problems, many jurisdictions developed Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiner (SANE) programs staffed by nurses with special training in the
technology of sexual-assault evidence collection and documentation and the
emotional ramifications for victims.†††
Regular meetings with members of the interagency collaboration can help SANE nurses
to stay abreast of changing legal standards and feedback from advocates
regarding victims' experiences with the forensic/medical process. With a
24-hour on-call program, SANE nurses relieve emergency room staff from these
duties and shorten wait times for both victims and police. SANE nurses'
specialized training and experience often results in higher-quality evidence
and more-skillful court testimony.46
However, in some jurisdictions, people have criticized SANE nurses for being
"too aligned with the victim," and thus they must remain impartial when
providing assistance.47

††† The Office for Victims of Crime published a manual on the development and operation of SANE programs (Ledray 1999).

5. Improving police skill in interviewing victims. Encouraging
victims to report sexual assaults requires efforts to prevent "secondary
victimization," and you can do so by refining police interviewing skills with
sexual assault victims. A positive first contact with police may also encourage
victims to participate in the investigation and prosecution of the assault.

Most people find the amount of detail a police interview requires
unusual, and they may find it particularly difficult when police ask them to
recount a highly personal and distressing event such as a sexual assault.
People react to trauma in different ways and have varying styles when informing
others about their experience. Victims may be highly emotional, with their
distress clearly evident, discussing the event in a trembling voice with
occasional spells of crying. They may also be far more controlled and low-key,
appearing to be numb or resigned. Importantly, the victim's presentation style
conveys no information at all about the veracity of the allegation or how
distressed they are by it.48
Thus, to collect the most useful and reliable information, police must be able
to adapt their interviewing style to accommodate victims' diverse needs.† Not only does skilled interviewing generate better information, but also quality
initial contacts with police can help victims to recover from trauma.49

† Epstein and Langenbahn (1994), Lonsway and Welch (1999), Jordan (2001), Lessel and Kapila (2001), and Woods (2008) offer concrete guidance for interviewing sexual assault victims. They highlight the importance of clearly assuring victims that they believe them, being patient, giving victims choices about how to proceed and the time necessary to decide what to do, and taking time to explain questions and why they need to ask them.

Studies of police training programs have found that some police lack skill in reading
victims' level of preparedness to answer questions; inform victims about the
consequences of reporting (e.g., warning that the trial will be difficult) too
soon; and structure the interview according to their desire to have the story
told chronologically and efficiently, rather than according to victims' need to
tell their story at their own pace.50

Videotaped role-play exercises, with actresses playing the
part of victims, help police to develop interviewing skills across a broad
spectrum of communication styles. Researchers have found training programs that
rely on lecture and discussion, without opportunities for skill development and
practice, to be less effective.51
Research shows that jurisdictions that provide specific training to police on
handling sexual assault cases have more cases in which victims willingly
participate in the criminal justice process and a greater proportion of cases
that are prosecuted.52

6.Teaching women self-protection. Women who experience a
completed rape have more severe emotional reactions than those who manage to
avoid a rape.53
Several research studies have shown that immediate, active resistance (e.g.,
yelling, running away, fighting back) reduces the likelihood that an offender
will complete a rape.54
Reporting this research finding is in no way intended to minimize the very
serious emotional consequences of any type of sexual assault or to imply that
assaults that do not involve penetration are not "real assaults." Instead,
these research findings are presented to inform harm-reduction efforts in response
to sexual assault.

Rape-avoidance training should provide information on the warning
signs of sexual aggression and how strangers may select and approach potential
victims.55
Resistance begins by quickly diagnosing the situation and acknowledging it as a
potential sexual assault. From there, effective victim self-protective
behaviors fall under three main categories:

forceful verbal resistance: using powerful language (e.g.,
screaming, yelling, threatening) to either scare off the offender or attract bystanders'
attention;

nonforceful physical resistance: passive efforts to evade
the attack, including pulling away, running away, or removing the offender's
hands; and

forceful physical resistance: aggressive behavior against
the offender, including hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, or using a
weapon.56

If they choose to resist, victims should meet the attacker's
level of force. As the offender approaches, yelling and fleeing may be
sufficient. As the attack becomes more physical, victims may need to respond
more forcefully. Self-defense programs should teach women a diverse set of
strategies designed to achieve a certain effect (e.g., to create distance
between the attacker and victim, to attract bystander attention) so they can
choose what best fits the situation and their own comfort level.57

Nonforceful verbal resistance, such as trying to reason with
the offender or begging, may not prevent rape completion because it may
increase the offender's desire to appear and/or feel powerful and dominant.58

Self-defense training should not involve only skill
development, but also should help women to mentally prepare for the unfortunate
case of being attacked. Emphasizing resistance may cause victims to believe
they must resist for the assault to be viewed as legitimate. Police
should challenge this notion and encourage women to contemplate what they are
prepared to do and the resistance level with which they are comfortable.59
Although research has shown that resistance decreases the likelihood that an
offender will complete a rape, each situation is different. Some women may fear
for their life and determine that not resisting is safest.

7.Offering safe transportation or escort services. Offering
safe, legal transportation to women leaving bars and nightclubs, walking home
from work, or leaving night classes can limit the opportunities available to
motivated offenders. Many colleges and universities provide safe transportation
during late-night hours, as do some cities during busy holiday seasons or
special events. For this response to be effective, analysis must accurately
identify high-risk times and locations. Police should also identify illegal
operated services (e.g., gypsy cabs) they have linked to sexual assaults.††

†† A cruel irony in London's sexual assault problem was that illegal minicab drivers committed a significant proportion of sexual assaults, attacking about 18 women per month. Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police Service, and London's mayor raised public awareness of the problem, cracked down on illegal cabs, and provided safe late-night transportation in the area. Over four years, the number of sexual assaults of this type decreased by about 45 percent (Transport for London 2006).

The Anchorage (Alaska) Police Department developed a crime
intervention unit to increase surveillance in places and at times men were most
likely to sexually assault women. Police trained about 40 volunteers to
recognize suspicious behaviors, to contact police, and to provide identifying
information. Plainclothes officers patrolled hotspots and responded to
information volunteers provided. Officers also developed rapport with
prostitutes and collected information about sexually violent men in the area.
Although the program experienced short-term success, its effectiveness was
limited because the department routinely pulled assigned officers into
situations that patrol should have handled. Police also suspected that
potential offenders moved to other areas (Whitehead 2005; Demer 2005).

Offender-Oriented Responses

8.Detecting prowlers. Although many sexual assaults occur
spontaneously, some offenders spend considerable time observing and assessing a
specific location, waiting for a suitable victim to emerge.60
You can use police foot patrols, Neighborhood Watch, and other programs
designed to increase the surveillance of risky areas to identify men who appear
to be lingering in the area or whom people have often seen in the area and who
have no apparent legitimate purpose there. The police should receive physical
descriptions of these men so they can informally question them.Even if a
suspect has fled the scene before police arrive, police should still interview
the caller and neighbors and document the suspicious activity.

9.Encouraging involvement by community members. Community
residents can help to prevent sexual assault in various ways. Reporting crimes
in progress as quickly as possible to police enhances the likelihood that the police
will identify and catch the perpetrator, and agreeing to participate as a
witness will increase the likelihood of a successful prosecution. High levels
of resident crime-prevention activity (i.e., increased guardianship) in a
specific area may suggest to offenders that committing a crime would be too
risky.61

10.Collaborating with probation and parole officers to identify
suspects. Police often have only a physical description of the offender and
information about his behavior or verbal interactions with the victim. Sharing
this information with probation and parole officers can help police identify a
suspect, given that there may be similarities to the offender's prior behavior.62
Subtle facts about the offense or offender may enable a probation or parole
officer to associate the new crime with him.

The Bellevue (Wash.) Police Department uses trained
volunteers to complete the state's standardized risk assessment form for all
known sex offenders in the city. Once they complete the form, they meet with
crime analysts to review and confirm the results. The volunteers' careful
review of all case information ensures that crime analysts consider all details
and accurately compile scores, which saves police, probation, and parole
officers significant time. Since the department implemented the program, the
city has noted an increase in the number of offenders classified as medium- and
high-risk, likely due to the more thorough review of case records
(International Association of Chiefs of Police 2007).

11.Using validated risk assessments to identify the supervision
needs of known sex offenders in the community. You or those qualified should
assess a known sex offender's risk of committing a subsequent sexual offense
using an instrument designed and validated specifically to do so.63Parole
and probation officers should subject those offenders classified as high-risk
to intensive supervision, with police support, as discussed below. Police
should have a lot of information about risk factors that can change rapidly and
that signal a need for immediate attention, such as increased hostility,
substance abuse, or the collapse of social supports.64

12.Developing case-management plans to reduce the risk individual
offenders pose. Plans to contain the risks posed by known sex offenders are
most effective in reducing recidivism when they include both surveillance
activities and intensive long-term treatment. Depending on their unique risk
behaviors and collateral issues (e.g., drug use), offenders should have specific
terms of community supervision developed for them.

a.Monitoring
offenders' activities. Police can contribute to the effort to supervise and
monitor known sexual offenders released from prison or jail to the community.
When probation and parole officers share information about individual offenders'
risks, supervision conditions, treatment progress, employment status, etc.,
police can better detect questionable behaviors or violations of the conditions
of supervision as they come across offenders during routine patrol or specific
enforcement activities. You need formal interagency agreements to promote the
exchange of information and to clearly delineate the team members' roles and
responsibilities.

In King County, Wash., the Seattle Police Department and
Washington State Department of Corrections' community corrections officers
share office space to promote the daily exchange of information about known sex
offenders in the community. Police also conduct community education programs
and enforce "no tolerance" for harassment or intimidation of sex offenders by
community residents (Center for Sex Offender Management 2008).

For example, most police agencies
are responsible for regularly verifying and updating sex offender registry
information. While no one has proved the effectiveness of sex offender
registries in reducing recidivism, research has shown that registration
requirements enhance police, probation, and patrol officers' surveillance
efforts.65
Rather than simply ensuring the accuracy of an offender's address, police can use
the opportunity to provide an additional field contact.66
Particularly if police know the offender's terms of supervision, they can
assess apparent changes in his circumstances and survey other household members
for indicators that the offender's risk of recidivism has increased. If police
note specific warning signs of assaultive behavior (e.g., contacting potential
victims on the internet, calling 900 numbers, viewing pornography, possessing
items used to bind victims), they should contact the offender's probation or
parole officer immediately. Although parole officers don't supervise some
registered sex offenders, police can still use information in their registries
to search for a suspect with particular personal characteristics or methods.

Police can effectively monitor an
offender's behavior by using Global Positioning Systems (GPS).67
Unlike electronic monitoring systems, which can indicate only whether the
offender is at home, GPS can pinpoint an offender's location within 10 to 15
feet. Active systems provide an offender's real-time location and immediately
alert supervision officers when an offender enters an area he's not allowed to.
Passive systems download and store information about an offender's
location but do not have active systems' immediate alert feature.

b.Providing
evidence-based treatment to known sex offenders. Programs that focus on
changing attitudes about women or the extent to which potential offenders hold
false perceptions or distorted beliefs about sexual assault have not produced
long-term attitude change.68
Further, while it is important for men to understand the impact of sexual
assault on women, programs focused solely on victim empathy are ineffective.

Therapists can reduce the risk of
subsequent sexual offenses among known offenders with a set of interventions
designed to change the thoughts and behaviors that predispose offenders to
committing a sexual assault. Effective treatment programs focus on offenders'
actual sexual behaviors, arousal, planning, and rationalizations rather than
stress, substance abuse, or childhood injuries that may contribute to, but not
cause, their offending behavior.69

Through collateral contacts with
police, probation, and parole officers, therapists should verify an offender's
self-reported behavior and attitudes throughout treatment. Further, therapists
can enhance surveillance efforts when they provide those in the criminal
justice system with information about the offender's methods of operation and patterns
of behavior that have historically preceded their assaults.70
You can then tailor the terms of supervision and surveillance plans to target
these precursors so police can prevent new assaults.

c.Using
lie detectors to inform case-management planning and execution. Using lie
detectors can support efforts to manage known sex offenders in the community by
eliciting complete information on offenders' current and historical risk
factors. At the beginning of the supervision period, law enforcement staff can
use lie detectors to compile a complete sexual behavior history, along with a
detailed description of the types of victims and opportunities that have led to
sexual assaults in the past.71
During the supervision period, staff can use lie detectors to verify the level
of reported compliance with the terms of supervision or to investigate specific
instances of noncompliance. To be most effective, police, probation, and parole
officers, treatment providers, and lie detector examiners should work together
to develop questions for individual offenders.72

Location-Oriented Responses

13.Limiting intoxication in public places. When other factors
predisposing men to sexual violence exist, research has shown that high intoxication
levels increase aggression among men.73
Further, women may also be less aware of their surroundings when drunk and thus
less capable of fending off an attacker. In areas with an active night life,
encouraging responsible beverage service among nightclub and bar owners may
decrease the intoxication level of potential perpetrators and victims. (See
Problem-Specific Guide No. 1, Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd ed., for
more information on implementing responses designed to decrease intoxication in
public places).

14.Improving lighting. Sexual assaults tend to occur in isolated
areas that have few opportunities for natural surveillance. Increasing the
lighting in these areas could increase the risk of detection and intervention, causing
the offender to consider the location too risky. Communities must be able to
pinpoint the hotspots for sexual assaults for this response to be effective. See
Response Guide No. 8, Improving Street Lighting To Reduce Crime in Residential Areas, for further information on the effectiveness of improved
lighting in reducing crime.

15.Removing hiding spots. Offenders who select and approach
their victims outdoors need an isolated spot from which they can observe the
area. Those responsible should properly secure abandoned buildings and
construction sites so that offenders can't use them for cover. In addition,
those responsible should cut back overgrown vegetation so that offenders no
longer can hide in or behind it. You can find several ideas for enhancing the
safety of urban parks and similar locations in Response Guide No. 9, Dealing With Crime and Disorder in Urban Parks.

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

16.Reforming legislation. By the early 1980s, in an effort to
counteract some of the problems inherent in prosecuting sexual assault cases,
most states passed some form of rape-law reform legislation. Most states
expanded their criminal codes to include a broader range of sexual offenses,
graded by seriousness, rather than using only a single offense of "rape." The
reforms also shifted the focus from the victim's behavior and whether she consented
or resisted to the offender's behavior and whether he used force or the threat
of force. Finally, most states removed the requirement for corroborating
witnesses and restricted the ability to introduce evidence about a victim's
sexual history (i.e., enacted "rape shield laws").

While these reforms made sexual assault cases somewhat
easier to prosecute and certainly changed public attitudes and knowledge about
sexual assault, reformers also hoped that these changes would increase the
likelihood that victims would report sexual assaults to police and increase arrest
rates.74
Unfortunately, for the most part, the legislative reforms did not have these
effects. While some communities have experienced increases in the rate of
prosecution of sexual assaults as a result of the reforms, on a large scale,
the intended outcomes of increased indictments and convictions remain largely
unchanged from their pre-reform levels.75
While the reform effort may have helped to change attitudes about sexual
assault, most researchers have found that it was largely symbolic.76

Summary of Responses

The table below summarizes the responses to sexual assault of
women by strangers, the means by which they are meant to work, the conditions
under which they should work best, and some factors you should consider before
implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to
local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable
analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing
several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom
effective in reducing or solving the problem.

It relies on each agency's
specific expertise and requires coordination among agencies

...cross-training of agency
staff is in place; full-time staff are assigned; formal protocols for
communication and information-sharing are developed; team members develop
methods to collect complete information about the sexual assault problem

Victims' privacy wishes
must be respected; distrust among team members can disrupt information-sharing

It increases the likelihood
that victims will report assaults to police

...victims work with a
single advocate as long as needed and are not transferred among caseloads;
advocates protect victims' interests throughout all of the stages of the
medical and criminal justice process, and beyond

Even with emotional
support, some victims will not want to report assaults to police

It increases the quality of
information police obtain about reported sexual assaults

...police adapt their
interviewing style to the victim's manner of presentation; training includes
videotaped role- play and feedback

Some victims may be more
comfortable talking to an officer of a specific gender, so the department
should have a diverse cadre of well-trained officers; well-paced interviews
that are responsive to victims' needs can be time-consuming

It increases the effort
required for an offender to complete a sexual assault

...women consider the level
of resistance with which they are comfortable long before an attack occurs;
women stay alert for opportunities to flee or resist throughout the attack

Emphasizing resistance may
cause victims to believe they must resist for the police to view the assault
as legitimate; emphasizing resistance by women may suggest that men are not
ultimately responsible for their actions

It decreases the likelihood
that a motivated offender will be able to commit a sexual assault

...foot patrols and volunteer
groups focus on high-risk areas; volunteers are trained to identify
suspicious behavior and to contact police; police interview callers and
neighbors and document suspicious activity, even if the prowler has fled; police
assigned to provide increased surveillance are not sidetracked with other
assignments

Offenders may become aware
of patrols and move to an area without increased surveillance

Field contacts are time-
consuming; interagency agreements for information- sharing are required; GPS
is very costly, depends on the availability of a cell-phone signal, and
requires the offender's cooperation

...the program focuses on
examining offenders' own behavior rather than changing attitudes or creating
victim empathy; therapists verify self-reported behavior with police,
probation, and parole officers; therapists share information about offenders'
risky behaviors with those responsible for monitoring them in the community

Interagency agreements for
information-sharing are required; long-term intensive treatment can be costly

It increases offenders'
risk of detection; it decreases the places available for offenders to wait
for suitable victims

...the high-risk locations
for sexual assault have been properly identified

Reducing hiding spots will deter
only those offenders who rely on cover to surprise their victims; it won't
affect offenders who openly approach their victims and verbally persuade them
to move to a more isolated area

References

Abbey, A., M.
Parkhill, M. Clinton-Sherrod, and T. Zawacki (2007). "A Comparison of Men Who
Committed Different Types of Sexual Assault in a Community Sample." Journal
of Interpersonal Violence 22:1567–1580.

Coldren, J.,
and D. Forde (2010). The Memphis Strategic Approaches to Community Safety
Initiatives (SACSI) Project: A Case Study. Chicago: National Assessment
Team, Center for Research in Law and Justice, University of Illinois at
Chicago.

County of San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team (2003). "Systems Review Committee Report." San
Diego, Calif.: County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, Division
of Emergency Medical Services.

Goldstein, H.,
and C. Susmilch (1982). "The Repeat Sexual Offender in Madison: A Memorandum on
the Problem and the Community's Response." Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Law School. Available at http://www.popcenter.org/library/researcherprojects/DevelopmentofPOPVolIII.pdf

Horvath, M.,
and J. Brown (2007). "Alcohol as Drug of Choice: Is Drug-Assisted Rape a
Misnomer?" Psychology, Crime and Law 13:417–429.

------- (2006). "The
Role of Drugs and Alcohol in Rape." Medicine, Science and the Law 46:219–228.

International
Association of Chiefs of Police and U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance (2007). Managing
Sex Offenders: Citizens Supporting Law Enforcement. Alexandria, Va.:
International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Lessel, H., and
K. Kapila (2001). "The Police Interaction Research Project: A Study of the
Interactions That Occur Between the Police and Survivors Following a Sexual
Assault." New York: New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

Myhill, A., and
J. Allen (2002). "Rape and Sexual Assault of Women: The Extent and
Nature of the Problem: Findings from the British Crime Survey." Home Office
Research Study No. 237. London: Home Office Research, Development, and
Statistical Directorate.

National Center
for Victims of Crime (2009). Rape-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Washington, D.C.: National Center for Victims of Crime. Available at: http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32366

New York City
Alliance Against Sexual Assault (n.d.). The Cost of Inaction: Social and
Economic Consequences of Untreated Sexual Violence in New York City. New York: New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

Tjaden, P., and
N. Thoennes (2006). "Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization:
Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey." NIJ Special Report.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
National Institute of Justice.

Transport for London (2006). "Safer Travel at Night." Submission for the Herman Goldstein Award for
Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing.

West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (n.d.). West Virginia
Protocol for Responding to Victims of Sexual Abuse. Fairmont, W.V.: West
Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services.

Whitehead, C.
(2005). "Anchorage Antirape Unit." Law and Order 53(3):62,64–65.

Woods, T.
(2008). First Response to Victims of Crime: A Guidebook for Law Enforcement
Officers. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Office for Victims of Crime.

Related POP Projects

Important!

The quality and focus of these submissions vary considerably. With the
exception of those submissions selected as winners or finalists, these
documents are unedited and are reproduced in the condition in which
they were submitted. They may nevertheless contain useful information
or may report innovative projects.